Tesla

Summary

You can't but truly admire Elon Musk and his staff at Tesla for what they have achieved so far and express every confidence in them resolving these challenges.

Switching the fuel has been on the research agenda since the 1950es but it is still very difficult, in spite of millions of people dying from the health issues associated with auto carbon exhaust every year.

Tesla is like an Apple, but in a sedate traditional industry that is full of roadblocks to development.

About the author

Eric Thomsen has published in law, science and economics. He holds several law degrees, a degree in economics and was ACAMS certified in 2016.

Tesla

Eric Thomsen

2018

The incredible story about Tesla

A little boy asked – What is that car?

He was looking at a low, sleek Tesla model S waiting for the green light, while we were advancing on the sidewalk.

It was all quiet, not noisy as many of the other cars. There was no expander fitted at the exhaust to make it sound like a fishing boat with the muffler broken.

There was no stinking Diesel fumes, no blue smoke, no black smoke, no smoke at all.

It just glided elegantly along.

So, what was the best way to tell him the incredible story about Tesla?

Diving into this story reveals how the story about Tesla is not just for small boys. It is a story about being a great a success in spite of many obstacles.

Nobody has done this before in the auto industry - not since the great Henry Ford.

Tesla is like an Apple, but in a sedate traditional industry that is full of roadblocks to development.

Switching the fuel has been on the research agenda since the 1950es but it is still very difficult, in spite of millions of people dying from the health issues associated with auto carbon exhaust every year.

But Tesla has had other problems as well which have prevented Tesla from being an even bigger success – trivial problems like getting the organization in place to ensure production efficiency and quality and even bigger problems of being prevented to sell its cars to waiting customers!

You can’t but truly admire Elon Musk and his staff at Tesla for what they have achieved so far and express every confidence in them resolving these challenges. Wishing Tesla the best of luck!

Eric Thomsen

Electric Truck

Let us start with the bold announcement of Tesla’s electric semi-truck in 2016.

The Electric Truck is nothing less than an electric shock.

If anything could electrify the car industry and the many truckers that drive these big vehicles around for a living, it was the idea of a quiet, clean and economically efficient electric truck.

For many of the truckers the idea of giving up the dirty smell of Diesel, the noise of a huge Diesel engine, the fingers wet with Diesel when mucking with some broken part or the amount of dirt and grease is preposterous.

The European semi truck fleet is abt. six million vehicles, and in all the truck fleet is over 13 million.

The annual sales in Europe are probably abt 300,000 units.

So, there is a lot of potential business to chew on.

The entrepreneurial CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, excited the trucking industry in September 2017 with the prospect of a battery-powered, heavy duty vehicle that could compete with conventional diesels.

Mr Musk said an unveil and test ride for the Tesla Semi truck was tentatively scheduled for 26 October in Hawthorne, California.

Worth seeing this beast in person. It's unreal, he said in a tweet.

The US firm's ambitions for new electric vehicles, including a commercial lorry, were announced last year.

On Wednesday 14 March 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a photo of two Semis before the electric big rigs embarked on a trip to transport battery packs from the company’s Gigafactory battery plant in Nevada to its car assembly facility in California. This was their first delivery.

Since its debut 16 November 2017, the Tesla Semi has attracted orders from United Parcel Service, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Walmart, PepsiCo and other companies with large truck fleets. The Semi has an estimated range of 500 miles on one charge, and it can travel from zero to 60 miles per hour in five seconds without a trailer, according to Tesla.

The Tesla Semi opens a new window for Tesla Motors, and it is scheduled to enter production in 2019.

Elon Musk explained on presentation that the Tesla Semi Truck is the safest and most comfortable truck ever.

Tesla Semi features enhanced autopilot technologies so that the vehicle itself aids avoidance of collisions.

The driver is in a centered position that provides maximum visibility and control. In countries where people ride bikes and where children ride bikes, like in Denmark, this is of great interest, because there have been many horrible accidents with trucks running over bikers and children when doing a right turn.

The performance and efficiency delivered is even more impressive than previously predicted.

The Tesla Semi Truck is claimed to have a mile range between 300 miles (483 km) and 500 miles (805 km), consuming energy at less than 2 kWk/mile (1.25 kWh/km) and saving over $200,000 USD (€163,000) in fuel.

This is all attributed to its four independent motors on its rear axles, which also accelerates the truck from 0 to 60 mph (97 km – usually in Europe we use 100 km/h as measure) with 80,000 lbs (36,250 kg) in 20 seconds.

The standard Semi with trailer in Europe is a 40 mt rig.

The four independent motors provide maximum power and acceleration and require the lowest energy consumption for this. Tesla says they will be the quickest big rigs on the road.

The Tesla Semi has a starting price of $200,000 (€163,000).

The excitement translated immediately into orders – fox news could reveal 7 Dec 2017 that Anheuser-Busch was buying 40 Tesla trucks but others like UPS and Walmart also have bought the new trucks even before production has started.

The beer brewing giant Anheuser-Busch announced on its website that it had placed an order for 40 of Tesla’s new electric semis.

Anheuser-Busch joins Walmart, J.B. Hunt and a growing list of companies putting their names on the list for the trucks, which are scheduled to enter production sometime in 2019.

"At Anheuser-Busch, we are constantly seeking new ways to make our supply chain more sustainable, efficient, and innovative," wrote James Sembrot, Senior Director of Logistics Strategy. "This investment in Tesla semi-trucks helps us achieve these goals while improving road safety and lowering our environmental impact".

If you live in a city like Copenhagen pestered with Diesel fumes from old trucks you think very kindly of these companies!

Tesla’s electric prototype will be capable of traveling the low end of what transportation veterans consider to be ‘long-haul’ trucking. Tesla’s efforts are centered on an electric big-rig known as a ‘day cab’ with no sleeper berth, capable of traveling about 200 miles (322 km) to 300 miles (483 km) with a typical payload before recharging. Tesla hopes that such a vehicle could compete with conventional gas-guzzling diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles (1609 km) on a single tank of fuel.

Truckers need to make stops and provided charging stations are readily available and recharging is fast, new driving and resting patterns could also make up for the shorter range.

On 16 Mar 2018 a Tesla Semi electric truck prototype was currently traveling in the Midwest as part of the automaker’s test program ahead of the vehicle’s production next year.

The prototype was spotted on the side of the I44 highway in Missouri apparently broken down, which made naysayers rejoice.

Tesla however, said the prototype wasn’t actually broken down and that they simply stopped to do some tests and make adjustments as part of the test program.

Tesla Semi Truck, MIssouri. Image from social media.

From truck makers to truck drivers, Tesla’s electric truck program has plenty of critics and naysayers.

Just a few weeks ago, the competitor Daimler’s head of trucks suggested that if Tesla’s claims about the vehicle were true, they would be defying the laws of physic.

Tesla has two electric truck prototypes currently driving around the US as part of their test program, so apparently the laws of physics are defied or at least suspended in these areas.

CEO Elon Musk is even confident that they could end up beating the specs that naysayers think impossible by the time they are finished with the test program and move to production, which is planned for next year, 2019.

Many drivers spotted the parked truck and it quickly made the rounds on the truck driver forums and social media groups.

Most of them were laughing at the electric truck being visibly broken down.

Some of them were just poking fun while others were downright insulting and almost threatening.

The thing is that even if it was broken down, it’s not an issue and nothing for naysayers to laugh about.

Those vehicles are prototypes in a test program. Tesla is pushing them to their limits to see how they react.

Even though it appeared broken down, some other people were still clearly excited to see the vehicle.

The Tesla Semi prototype made its way from Fremont, California to St-Louis, Missouri for a visit at Anheuser-Busch, the brewer behind Budweiser who also ordered 40 Tesla Semi trucks last year.

The vehicle stayed at the brewery for a while and this gave a chance to look at the electric truck. Several pictures were posted.

It appears there is a lot of animosity from other truck makers just out of fear, but why truck drivers are angry is strange.

Do they not want to drive cleaner, more powerful, and less noisy trucks?

Most people living in the city would very much like them to drive cleaner and less noisy vehicles, and would appreciate if they were also safer. Maybe it is just the usual resistance to improvement?

Elon Musk

Who is the man behind this wonder?

Elon Musk is born 28 June 1971 in South Africa. He is a Canadian-American with a degree in engineering and business.

He is a serial entrepreneur reportedly with a net worth over $20 billion. Together with a friend he built and sold a very successful company, PayPal, to eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion.

Musk, luckily, is a billionaire. He pocketed roughly $180 million as a cofounder of PayPal, and helped get Tesla off the ground in 2004 with an initial investment of $6.3 million.

Musk put in another $20 million in 2007, and then in fall of 2008, with the company on the verge of collapse as the economy seized to a halt, Musk was virtually broke. He spent his last $20 million trying to keep the company afloat, while living off personal loans from friends.

In the 12 years since the Elon Musk has evolved in the public imagination into a kind of mad genius figure - part industrialist, part scientist, part playboy, part superhero. He has dated and married famous actresses, including Talulah Riley and Amber Heard, and had a rumored fling with Cameron Diaz. Robert Downey Jr took inspiration from him to play Tony Stark in Iron Man.

His investments, apart from Tesla, include rocket and spacecraft company SpaceX and Neuralink, which is looking at ways to meld human and computer intelligence.

You have to be impressed. For years, Elon Musk has had a seemingly magical touch, defying doubts about his endeavors. He had the stomach to push through difficult times, and the chutzpah to twist the arms of reluctant investors.